


The Raven Lady

by Halfasleepheadcanons



Series: The Raven Lady [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Human Amity, Role Swap, Switching au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26641783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfasleepheadcanons/pseuds/Halfasleepheadcanons
Summary: After following a pair of strange figures she saw fighitng on the street, a human named Amity Blight finds herself in a very different world.
Series: The Raven Lady [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938244
Comments: 11
Kudos: 42





	1. A Watcher, A Witch, and a Silent Wish

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter of my Owl House AU, "The Raven Lady"! I'm really excited to see how it develops and I'm hoping you will be too.

Of course it was raining. That cold, steady drizzle that wasn't planning on going anywhere fast. Amity Blight pulled her jacket tighter around her as she listened to the drops drum on the roof of the bus stop, trying to get herself to look forwards to what was to come.

This wouldn't be her first summer at Maverik's Academy. The summer school was targeted at students who were ahead of the learning curve. It let them take higher level classes than they would be able to otherwise, and Amity had been attending both public school and Maverik's for three years now.  
The first year her mother had signed her up for it Amity had been excited at the prospect of getting further ahead. The second year she went along with it because she didn't feel there was anything better she could be doing. This year…

Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of the approaching vehicle. She looked up, hoping for the bus, but instead watched as a semi-truck passed by with the grinning cherry on it's side advertising Coleman's Cola. She pulled out her phone to check the bus schedules, opening the messenger when she noticed a text from her sister.

Two women stood on the other side of the street. One was dressed in a long red dress, with dull auburn hair she wore loose down her back. The other wore a long white coat, the hood of which concealed her face. Both were tall, and something about the way they carried themselves seemed similar despite the differences in their attitudes. The redhead was laughing loud and full. The other's fist was clenched, and she jabbed her finger in the redheads direction in a way that made her meaning clear even though Amity couldn't hear her.

Before long, the redhead shook her head and turned around, heading away down the sidewalk. Amity watched as the one with the coat waited til the redhead turned the corner, and followed her. Amity knew she shouldn't do the same. She knew she should stay where she was, not get involved. her bus could be here at any minute, she had no idea what was happening, and getting involved could be dangerous.

She convinced herself that she was just being responsible. If there was something illegal going on, there needed to be witnesses. She would make sure there was nothing dangerous going on, and if there was she would call the police.

It seemed to work. As she followed the pair from the other side of the street, she was able to get a better look at them. They seemed close to the same age, if she had to guess which were older she'd probably say the redhead, though it was hard to say for sure. Though her hair was dulled with streaks of grey, she carried herself with an energy that the other woman did not. Her pursuer seemed tired, exhausted. She was very pale, and would stop walking every so often, even if the redhead showed no signs of noticing her.

Amity knew something was wrong when the redhead started walking up the pathway of the closed off house at the end of the road. The building had been stuck in a state of disrepair for years, and since the city never spent the money to fix an un-owned building it slowly got worse. Over time it had built itself a reputation as haunted, and on many a halloween when they were kids, Amity and her siblings would dare eachother to go inside. Not that she believed any of that now, of course.

As Amity saw the woman climb the steps her concerns shifted from those of violence to thoughts of things far worse. Drug deals, gangs, illegal weapons… She shook her head. Those were things from stories and books. They didn't happen in the real world. Not here, and absolutely not on the wealthy side of town. She needed to call the police.

  
She didn't, though. Instead she knelt in front of the door to the old house, put her ear to the rough wood, and listened. She could hear a woman’s voice, pleading almost desperately.

“Please. I need this. I need you. I can’t do it alone.”

“Lilly, listen. You and I both know he isn’t going to do anything but shut me away until it's time for his little festival. I don't know what he's been telling you but I'm not going to be a part of it."

“Please, Eda. Isn't this what we wanted? We need you. I can't explain why, but he...”

Amity frowned as the voices moved too far away to hear. She didn’t know what to make of this anymore. Maybe she didn’t need to call the police but she was too far in to just go back. Pushing away the dozens of fantasy plots that had seeded themselves in her mind, Amity gripped the doorknob and turned it slowly.  
Once it was open enough to see inside, she discovered that her caution wasn’t necessary. The two women weren’t there, presumably having wandered their conversation into another room. Amity had never actually been inside before, and was shocked to find how clean it was. The wooden floors weren't scratched or stained, and the distinct lack of cobwebs unsettled her more than any number of actual webs would.

Amity closed her eyes, straining to find a voice over the heavy silence of the empty room. She didn’t hear any clear sign of the women, but she heard… Something else. A soft humming. Not quite mechanical but not quite human either. She opened her eyes, trying to figure out which of the three halls it could be coming from. And so she went down the rightmost hall, and that was where she found The Door.

The Door wasn't part of the house. It stood on its own, suspended as if hanging from an invisible cord. It's dark surface was smooth, with gilded gold accents lining its facets. And then there was the eye. A half sphere of glass, warping the golden “iris” and pupil in the middle. It acted like one of those paintings you'd find around Halloween; no matter where you stood, it was looking at you.

Something about this eye felt different from a cheap optical illusion, though. It didn't just look at you, it _saw_ you. It knew you were there, it knew who you were. She shook her head. It was just some plastic playing with the light. But if it was nothing, why was it hanging? What was the noise?

The humming seemed like it was coming from the door, but that wasn’t quite right. It was coming from behind the door. Not where the hallway continued past it, like there was something else on the other side. Except there couldn’t be, of course. This wasn’t a book, this wasn’t a story. This was the real world, and something was very wrong. Amity Blight reached for the knob, and opened the door.

Everything was too loud. Too bright. Too much movement, too many colors and sounds that seemed as if they were spiraling inside her skull until all at once it stopped. And she was somewhere else. She was obviously outside, but nothing looked right. The easiest to digest was the ground. Dirt that had been stamped down by crowds, as dozens if not hundreds of people must have come to this place regularly. Then was the sky. The rain wasn’t just gone, it looked like it hadn’t been here in the first place. Instead the sky was cast in a hazy orange sunset, with streaks of purple and red.

Only then could Amity fully take in the noises. The people. The scenery of this place that should not exist. There were market stalls, there was shouting and haggling and laughing. There were people who looked like elves, with long ears and golden eyes. There were people with sea creatures growing out the back of their head. There were centaurs, harpies, people with too many or too few eyes and mouths.

It felt like it took hours to process this, but in reality it was only a few short seconds that were quickly cut off as she was forcefully shoved to the side by a large man in a crow mask. He hurried past her, running down the market clearly chasing someone. Then Amity saw her. The woman she had followed stood less than ten feet away, staring after the new pursuit.

  
Her hood was down now, revealing her long black hair that now hung loose down her back, roots of grey creeping in. Her eyes were grey too, and the bags they held made it seem she hadn't slept in days. Then Amity noticed the long ears, the green gemstone in her chest, and the pointed fangs that showed themselves for a second as she opened her mouth with a dejected sigh.

  
Once again her mind tried furiously to rationalize what was happening. She told herself that she was dreaming. She had fallen asleep at the bus stop and had probably already missed it. She’d wake up, tell Emira what had happened and hope to avoid conflict as she waited for the next bus to come. But it didn’t feel like a dream. It didn’t look like one, either. The words on the signs didn’t shift when she looked at them. If she paid attention she could understand what people were saying, and the woman in the white cloak was gone.

Realizing this, she started to panic, looking around frantically. There wasn’t any logical reason to try to find her, and Amity didn’t even know what she would do if she did. Still, she had followed her-Lilly, had the redhead called her? She had followed Lilly to this place, and maybe she’d be able to help her get out.

Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard someone clear their throat behind her, and she almost jumped out of her skin. She whirled around to see the woman standing behind her, arms crossed with a glare Amity swiftly recognized as cold disapproval. Amity tried to back away, but bumped into someone else and looked up to find the eyes of a black leather crows mask leering down at her over a thin beak. Then the woman snapped her fingers, and instantly a coarse burlap sack was shoved roughly over Amity's head.

Amity tried to struggle in the dark of the bag, the rough fabric scraping her face as she kicked and pushed. Panic swelled in her chest, choking her throat. She tried to shout for help, for fire, for anything. She tried to scream or cry out but her voice only came out as a tiny choked squeak. She had to get out but the man who held the sack was so much stronger than she was and the more she tried the clearer it became that there was nothing she could do. Then everything stopped.

She didn't know how she fell asleep, or when. It was like someone had turned off a light in her mind, pulling the cord that sent her tumbling into dreamless grey. When she woke up, she didn't open her eyes. Not at first. She tried to tell herself that if she could figure out the situation, she'd know how to proceed, and she would get out. All of that vanished when she became aware of the ropes around her wrists.

As the fear set in once again Amity’s mind gripped onto the only real, understandable thing that had happened since she saw their argument. She had been kidnapped. She tried to think, to plan, to process. Had she been told what to do if this happened? Was this something that had ever even been mentioned? Adrenaline pushed out any attempts at rationalization, screaming to fight or flee even though she knew she could do neither. Maybe if she lied she could get them to let her go. If she picked her words right, spoke carefully, maybe her parents would never have to find out about this at all.

"...and remember. If one word of this reaches Belos, I will make sure you are first in line for the next petrification." Amity's eyes shot open as she heard the voice, finally taking in the room around her. It was small and plain, every surface a smooth white, including the table she sat in front of. That and the two chairs were the only pieces of furniture in the room, and a bright light bulb spotless corner of the room. She heard the sound of a door closing, and the black haired woman she had followed to this place sat in the chair opposite her.

The other woman had called her Lilly, but that didn't seem very fitting. She seemed cold, too sharp to be anything flowery. Her face carried the weight of someone who'd been working far too long, and it was clear that her patience would be thin.

"Who are you?" With this question Amity's final hopes of understanding what was happening vaporized. The images she had seen when she first stepped through that door still floated through her mind, and this room was far from the dank parking ramp she'd expect a kidnapper to take her. Her family was one of the most well known in town, yet this woman genuinely had no idea who she was.

"I will ask you one more time. Who are you?"

"I-I.." Amity's mind raced. She needed to find a way to get out of this without her parents being called, but if this woman didn't know she was a Blight, wasn't meaning to take someone important, maybe the family name would somehow scare her into letting her go. She tried to compose herself, straightening, steadying her voice as she replied. "I am Amity Blight."

If the woman recognized the name she didn't show it. Instead, she asked the next question in the same cold, sharp voice. "How did you get here?" The confusion Amity accidentally let slip onto her face seemed to put a crack in her interrogator's composure, her eyebrow twitching as she spoke again, slowly. “How did you get to the island?”

"I… followed you. And the other woman. The one with red hair. And there was a door-" Amity flinched as the woman stood quickly, her mask of cold disappointment now replaced with clear anger. The woman ran a hand through her hair as she paced back and forth, muttering words that sounded like "Careless," "Edalyn," and several explicates. Then she stopped, setting her hands on the table with a heavy sigh.

“You’re not supposed to be here, but I can’t get you back. Not yet. I think..” she groaned, rubbing her forehead. “How did she let this happen… There... There might be a way, but I don’t have it. I can get it, I’m sure, but for now…”

“Wait, I can’t get back? Back out there or back home? Or to Maverik’s? I don't even know where _here_ is. Island?” She needed to know what was going on but the woman wouldn’t tell her anything. She didn't give any response to any of her questions. She didn't even seem to be listening, instead pacing back and forth, muttering too quiet for Amity to hear.

"I am going to retrieve something. You are going to stay here. Should you try anything, there are two guards outside that door that will not be so keen on getting you back home." And just like that the woman was gone. Not a word to her questions, not a single thought. And there was nothing Amity could do but sit and wait for her to return. This was a time where the minutes should "stretch into hours" or for "time to blur together," but it didn't. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, and it didn't _feel_ like more than five minutes. She smacked herself mentally. She still could be in danger. She had more important things to worry about.

When Lilith did return, she set a rumpled yarn cloth on the table.

"A hat?" Amity frowned, as she picked up the maroon beanie.

"Your ears mark you as a human. Cover them, and we won't get any difficult questions. Put it on and follow me, I'll answer some of your questions along the way."

"On the way where?"

"Just put on the hat and stay close."

Amity doubted that she'd get any real answers, but she listened. She slipped the beanie over her head, making sure the sides covered her ears, and wakled to where the woman stood in front of the door. She opened it, and lead her past two figures in white robes and ceramic masks akin to the one of the man who had captured her.

"You are now in the boiling isles," the woman explained as they walked down the hall. The floor was black tile, the walls painted the same color. Golden accent pillars lead up from their base to the arcing white ceiling far above their heads. "It's magical center of the demon realm. The world exists in the same space as yours, but on a different level. Think of it like... Paper wrapped around a box. Or a box inside a box, but the boxes..." She shook her head. "Some people can cross between the two worlds, sometimes you'll find "tunnels" that appear and close for no reason. People have been known to cross, so have objects, but the most common thing is ideas. Nearly every 'fantasy' story you've heard has some level of roots here. Monsters, fairies, spells, alchemy. These concepts appeared all over your world with no clear origin because their origin _wasn't_ in your world."

Amity might not have understood worlds, or layers, or boxes. But she understood fantasy. And if this world was what Lilith said it was- A world with every piece of magic and monsters... She knew that not a single good thing had happened since she came here but this idea latched in her mind.

"And who are you? What are you?"

"I am-"

"Lilith." The voice came from behind them. The sort of friendly, smiling tone that made everything sound like a threat. She turned to find a strange creature. They were short, no more than half Amity's height, with a decorated white cloak over bright red skin. Rather than hair, a large blue-grey hand gripped her head, the wrist connect to another hand that was gripped into a fist that somehow implied a bun. Lilith sighed, the icy edge to her voice returning in an instant. "Kikimora."

Though the huge collar of Kikimora's cloak obscured her mouth, something about the look in her eyes felt dangerous in a way Amity couldn't quite explain. Though her voice remained pleasant, that did little to ease Amity's concerns. "I see you're giving a student a tour. May I ask, who is so lucky to receive a private walk through of the Emperor's Coven?

"This is Amity Blight, a student who has been showing impressive potential at Hexside. They don't deal well with crowds, and the school's principal suggested I bring her before the main tour group." Lilith presented the lie with such unwavering certainty that, had Amity not been the subject, she would have believed her. It seemed Kikimora hadn't noticed it; her expression remained unwavering as she and Lilith stared each other down, and Amity slowly came to realize that the energy between the two of them was nothing short of pure contempt.

Kikimora turned to Amity, a look in her eyes that could have been curiosity or malice, and chuckled. "Enjoy the rest of your tour, Amity. I'm sure we'll be seeing you again soon."  
Amity swallowed the piece of fear the strange creature had lodged into her throat, and it slid to join the growing unease in her gut. Still, her voice didn't show it. It never did. "Thank you, miss Kikimora." With a chuckle that sounded anything but joyful, she continued on her way, leaving Amity and Lilith in the hall.  
“That,” Lilith said with a sigh “Was Kikimora. The Emperor’s personal assistant.”

“Wait,” Amity began, realization dawning. “That’s the Emperor’s assistant, she called it the Emperor’s Coven. Is this…” She stared again at the spotless floors, the chandeliers that hung suspended from the ceiling.

Lilith nodded. “The Emperor’s castle, yes. Now keep up, we're almost to the tower.” The woman opened a door down a narrow hall, and the light of day splashed into the hall. The sky didn’t look like the one she’d seen when she arrived, rather than the hazy purples and oranges from before the world seemed cast in an odd blue-grey. Lilith brought her down a stone path through a field of white grass that lead to a large tower that peeked out over the wall of black metal that stood just behind it and seemed as if it stretched all the way around the castle.

Taking a silver key from her pocket, Lilith unlocked the old wooden door. It swung open perfectly silently, robbing Amity of the creak it looked like it should provide. The room was simple, with dark wooden floors, a long dining table, wooden counters and cupboards and shelves. The far wall held the stairs, which went up along one wall and down the wall adjacent. Holding up a finger for amity to wait, Lilith immediately crossed the room and headed down the steps.

The shelves didn’t look like the things she would hope for in a witch's tower. There were herbs, yes, but none that Amity didn’t recognize from her kitchen at home. The lack of a stove or fridge was unusual, but the most interesting thing Amity could find during her short wait was a mason jar of black liquid that didn’t seem to be illuminated when Amity held the jar up to the light.

“Put that down!” Lilith had returned carrying a roll of fabric under one arm, her expression not mad, but certainly annoyed. After Amity did so, she rolled out the sleeping bag and set a pillow ontop of it. “You will sleep here for the night. As soon as possible tomorrow we’ll be taking you back to the human world.”  
“You know how?” Amity asked, hesitantly sitting on the sleeping bag,

“I know a place that should work, yes, though I’ll need to make some preparations first. There will be food left for you. The third floor is my study, stay out of it. We don’t need you breaking anything.” Amity nodded as the woman briskly grabbed a glass bottle from a cupboard Amity hadn’t yet looked in, and stuffing it in her pocket too quickly for Amity to see if there was anything inside.

After Lilith went up the stairs, Amity sat on the sleeping bag as her brain tried to spin the events of the day into something coherent. Her mind buzzed but her body felt heavy, as if her unexpected nap earlier in the day had done nothing to provide any actual rest. Eventually, she lay down. Eventually, her thoughts quelled, transitioning into the rhythms of a dream, and the hope that when she woke up she would find this world to still be here.


	2. Birdcage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity and Lilith go to back to the marketplace to seek out Eda and her portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two!!!!! Sorry it took so long though I really don't know how many people were waiting. If you aren't already, make sure you're following me on tumblr too, @halfasleepheadcanons. I post progress updates of chapters from time to time, as well as pictures and artwork of characters! (All artwork will most likely make it's way over here when new chapters come out, but still. You get them sooner over there.)

__

_Before the chapter, I want to show off this amazing drawing of our Amity by my friend Ra. Check out more of her work, @_emotionallycompromised on instagram!_

Amity didn't want to wake up. Those words played in her head again and again as she held the blanket close, keeping her eyes shut despite the ringing of her phone alarm. The vivid blend of fantasy and nightmare replayed scenes in her mind like a picture show as she clung to it, doing all she could to not let go. She didn’t want to go back to the world. Her parents, her teachers, the stiff silences and forced formalities that filled every second.

Still, the blaring alarm forced itself on her consciousness, blocking out her thoughts. The cloth wrapped around her was too thin to protect from the cold wooden floor no matter how close she held it. Her body ached, too used to plush mattresses to be able to comfortably rest on the hard ground. 

Slowly the realization dawned on her. She shouldn't be here. There was no reason for her to be sleeping on the floor. There was no reason for her to be wrapped in a worn sleeping bag with a single pillow, no reason for her to be somewhere that felt so different from the familiarity of home. Unless… 

Finally, warily, she opened her eyes. What greeted her was not the room she had woken up to every morning she could remember, but the ground floor of Lilith's tower. Above her head rose the wooden steps stuck from the wall. If she turned her head she could see the oak cabinets, the shelves of bottles and herbs. It was real. She was here.

Amity turned off her alarm, dismissing a message from her mother. (“I told you to text me when you got to the academy.”) She stood up, trying to stretch the sore out of her muscles to little avail. Her clothes had become wrinkled when she slept, and she was trying to smooth them out when Lilith came down the stairs. 

Already donned in a dark blue dress with an emerald brooch, the witch set a plated sandwich on the table. “There’s been a change of plans.” Amity glanced from the plate to Lilith, waiting for her to continue. “I’d been told there would be a spot tonight where the boundaries might be thin enough to cross over without a portal, but the Emperor has decided a bigger purpose for the event.”

She crossed the room to the door, and took a long white coat from the coat rack. It looked like a hooded trench coat, with golden vines and leaves curling up the sides. “Eat that quickly, and come on. We have another option but it may take some time, and we don’t have much.”

Amity took a hurried bite of the egg sandwich. It was cold but she didn’t complain, instead grabbing her shoes as she chewed. Eat fast, get dressed fast, and hurry out the door. She almost wanted to laugh. Even in this strange world of witches and monsters, some things were always the same. Amity shoved the last pieces of the sandwich into her mouth, grabbing her jacket from where it lay on the floor. "Where are we going?"

"We're visiting my sister. It's not my first choice by far, but it's what we've come to if we want to get you back where you belong." Lilith paused, searching through the pockets of her coat before apparently finding what she was looking for, though it remained where it was. “The easy part will be finding her. It’s sunday, so she’ll be running her market stall.”

“What about the hard part?” Lilith didn’t answer, instead waving for Amity to follow. As she did so, she tried to slip into her composure, as she did every morning. A breath. Controlled voice. Steady pace. As they walked out the door and down the stone path, she struggled to hold her act. Too much had happened that she hadn’t planned for, couldn’t control, couldn’t manage. A breath. A step. _Keep yourself together, Blight._

Lilith stopped at the wall of the courtyard, glancing up at the sky. Just as Amity was about what was happening, a massive birdcage was lowered into the yard. It was a third of the height of the tower, with dark wooden panels lining the inside of the walls. 

The cage was carried by a massive bird, a hawk twice the size of the woman that stood besides her. Its dappled orange wings were as long as amity was tall, if not longer. It glared down at them with a look that almost felt condescending, and she watched in bewilderment as Lilith opened the door of the cage and stepped to the side. She turned, looking at Amity expectantly until she realized she was supposed to join her. 

Shakily, slowly, she grabbed the bar near the door and pulled herself up. The inside of the cage was simple, but elegant. Two long benches sat on opposite sides, made of the same polished wood as the walls and floor, and Amity sat in one as Lilith took her place on the other. If it weren’t for the shape of the room, you could almost forget the metal bars on the other side. Amity shook the thoughts from her mind as they began to leave the ground. This wasn’t a trap, it was a taxi. It was taking them somewhere.

The flight itself was smooth, but silent. Normally Amity would welcome the moment of still, but something here felt wrong. The tightness it seemed to hold, maybe. Or the lack of noticeable movement. Or the way Lilith kept glancing at her arms.

Her voice finally breaking the brittle quiet, Amity spoke. “You said we’re looking for your sister?”

Lilith nodded. “Yes. Her name is Edalyn. If you followed me through the door, you most likely already saw her.” Amity thought back to the conversation she’d overheard the day before. _I can’t do this without you._

“You needed her for something? Or thought she could help you” Lilith pursed her lips, and Amity immediately regretted her words. To her surprise, the tone in Lilith's voice was neither disappointment nor anger. She thought she heard the woman's voice waver as she began, but she spoke so smoothly past that point that Amity was sure she had imagined it. 

"You misunderstood. I was trying to convince her to accept _my_ help." Amity frowned. That didn't sound right, but she wouldn't argue. Many times she had been sharply corrected when what she thought was a response was declared "changing the subject" or "trying to distract them."

"Let me explain. My sister is… Our society is centered on nine covens, groups of specialists in different forms of magic. There are countless smaller covens and offshoot groups, but everyone is required to join one when they finish school. Those who chose not to do so because they hold the system in dissent or see themselves above other people. Edalyn is one of them."

Amity's doubts at Lilith's sincerity all but vanished as she continued. "Not only that, but she's marked herself as one of the worst. She's made herself a reputation breaking several laws placed for protection, including traveling between worlds."

Amity thought again to what she had heard at the abandoned house, and it dawned on her. _You and I both know he isn’t going to do anything but shut me away until it's time for his little festival._ "You were trying to get her to go clean." 

She hadn't been too far off, then. Something illegal _had_ been happening. Still, if she had known what law was being broken…. Lilith nodded, and opened her mouth to respond. Instead she was interrupted as, without warning, the carriage started to descend. Amity clenched the edge of the bench expecting turbulence, but the only disturbance was the gentle rocking of the cage before it touched down on the dirt below. 

Amity climbed out of the cage and into a wide alleyway, quickly taking in the area. The buildings on each side were large, and in good repair. On the left, a polished wood wall spanned the length of the passage. On the right stood two square buildings of brick and paint. 

While the furthest building was plain white paint, the brickwork nearest Amity held a mural that took up the entire wall. A white raven sat on a golden branch, with a crown of woven twigs upon its head. It stared into the alley, maintaining vigilant watch over the dim pathway. 

Amity found herself reaching towards it, wanting to run her fingers along the painted brickwork to see if it was as smooth as it looked. Instead she jerked her hand back, startled by the disgruntled crow of the hawk that had carried them here. She turned to find Lilith had exited the carriage as well, and was now turning back towards its carrier. Had she been staring at the mural too? She watched the witch dismiss the hawk with a wave and it took off once more, seemingly unaffected by the weight of the thing it carried with it.

Lilith closed her eyes for a moment, and Amity stared as she drew a golden circle in the air with her finger. It almost seemed as if she was cutting a hole in reality, the golden light shining through from the other side. Then she reached through the middle of the circle and pulled out a staff. A polished white pole, capped with gold and topped with a wooden white raven reminiscent of the mural behind her.

Amity had hoped she’d be more prepared for the noise, but as soon as the two of them stepped out of the alley it hit her all at once. The sound from every direction drowned out her thoughts, making it impossible for her to take in the scene around her. It was all she could do to follow close to Lilith, cursing herself for being too slow to take in her surroundings as Lilith searched the market. It felt bigger than she remembered. Too big. There were too many turns, too many different lanes all so full of too many people. 

Eventually Lilith came to a stop in what seemed like an off lane. There were only four stalls here, and few enough shoppers that Amity was finally able to pull herself together again. She glanced up at Lilith, and felt dread begin to set in as she realized that Lilith was waiting for something. She had noticed. It shouldn’t have been hard. She should have been fine. It was just a few people. She should have been fine, she _knew_ that and she waited for Lilith to say it. But she didn’t. Instead the witch now seemed to be examining the charms hung from a nearby stall, not even looking in Amity’s direction. 

Maybe she hadn’t seen it. Maybe the stop was just a coincidence and she hadn’t noticed, but if it was Amity needed to make sure it stayed that way. A distraction, anything so that Lilith wouldn’t have any reason to think that she’d been having trouble; and so she asked the question that had been sitting in her head since that morning."If Edalyn is a wanted criminal, why does she have a stall in a public marketplace?" 

Lilith's frown immediately reminded her why she had waited so long to ask, but when she turned back to face Amity to respond, she realized that the frown was not directed at her. "My sister is… skilled at evading us. Most people in Bonesburrough don't care whether or not she’s a criminal as long as she keeps selling to them, and she always manages to get out right before we can capture her."

"Couldn't you just wait at her stall?"

Lilith shook her head. "We've tried, but she isn't even officially licensed. She doesn't have a designated spot in the market, so she just sets up her stall wherever she can fit it."

"Oh."

Lilith glanced her up and down a moment before asking "Are you ready to go back in?"

"Wh.. what?"

“I asked if you’re ready to go back into the market.” After a moment’s hesitation, Amity nodded. So she had seen. Why had she waited? If they were so short on time, why stop? It didn’t make sense, but if time was scarce she couldn’t waste more of it asking questions. Instead she readied herself as best she could, and followed Lilith back out into the crowd. 

It wasn’t as large as Amity had thought. It was bigger than the piece she’d seen the day before yes, but now that she’d prepared herself she realized it wasn’t as big as she had thought. It seemed to have two main lanes that crossed each other in a plus sign, and a less crowded outside square that held it together. 

“Wait, I think I just saw her!” Amity pointed to a gap several stalls down where moments before had stood a booth with an olive green tarp. Lilith nodded.

“This is the third time, actually. Every time she sees us she runs away…” She frowned, staring out into the street and tapping her fingers on the head of her staff. Gradually, an idea formed in Amity’s mind. It wasn’t perfect, but they needed something.

“She’s just on the lookout for you, right?”

“Most likely, though sending any other coven members has the same effect. We’ve tried.”

Amity shook her head, shoving down the hooks of doubt that tugged at her gut. Why was she second guessing? It was a simple decision. No, not even that, it was a _necessity._ She just needed to get it over with. “What if…” Too quiet. Speak up. “What if I went to find her? She’s not looking for me. I can just… Explain what happened and go back.”

Lilith pursed her lips. “It could work… Are you sure you’d be alright? She’s been staying in the crowded strip.” So Lilith was _that_ type. It made sense now, at least. The reason she'd waited. The reason the edge she'd had when talking to the guards was never present when she was talking to her. Lilith wasn't mad, she pitied her. 

“Don’t do that.” Amity snapped. Her voice was sharp, but she didn't care. Now she had something to prove. 

“What-”

“Just don’t. I’ll be fine. There’s no reason for me to have problems with it.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Lilith nodded. “If you’re sure. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be waiting here.” The uneasy feeling in Amity’s gut rose back up over the flash of anger, but it was too late now. She’d made sure of that. Keep the doubt away just long enough so you can’t go back anymore. So she nodded, taking a breath as she turned to where she’d last seen Eda’s stall. 

She should have just waited. She should have waited and kept quiet and maybe, just maybe Lilith would have given up. Maybe she would have turned back. Maybe Amity could have stayed in this world where nothing good had happened for her but still felt so right.

She knew she’d done it on purpose but that didn’t make it better. This world was frightening and she’d only seen part of it but how could she go back? How could she go back to her parents, her school, her life, now that she knew there was another option?

She hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going. Why wasn’t she paying attention? She had one job. One job and she messed it up. Now she was in the middle of the crowd, people and noise on every side and she didn’t know how far she’d gone or even if she’d been near Eda. She didn’t know how long she’d been walking. Lilith could have already left, assuming she’d gotten home. She could have walked right past Eda, with nothing to show for it. 

As soon as she saw the alley she stepped in. She shouldn’t need it. She shouldn't need it, she shouldn't need it but no matter how many times she said that she still did. She’d tried to be ready time and time again but she needed out if just for a second.

This wasn’t the alley they’d started in. It was in ill repair, with broken glass and the smell of alcohol and sick in the air but that didn’t matter as she sat against the wall, hiding her face in the lapels of her jacket. Just a moment. Just a second so she could get any sort of solid footing.

She wished she could slip into stability as well as… other people she’d known. Or that she wouldn’t need to. Or at the very least that she could fake it as well as E. But she couldn’t. She never could. 

Her thoughts were jostled out of her head by a sudden burst of orange and red light from around the corner. Another alley, branching off from the one she was in now. The scent of smoke drifted past her nose and amity found herself standing up, walking towards it. The voice of rationality in the back of her mind, the part of her she took such pains to follow screamed at her to go back. But the sense of wonder that she’d only felt from her brief escapes, the nights spent reading under the covers, imagining new endings and other worlds, carried her forwards. 

What she saw when she glanced around the corner of the alley was not a fire, but a person. They stood in the middle of the alley, dressed in a loose jacket and facing away from her. Wooden boards had been placed across the buildings above, making a roof over the alley that only let a single shaft of light through. This was where the person stood, staring up at something Amity couldn’t see. 

“Stop.” The voice came from somewhere above, echoing far more than it should have in the space. Its tone was void of everything but command, cold and steady. The figure in the alley’s head jerked to the side, than the other, frantically looking everywhere as Amity quickly ducked back out of sight.

“Your crimes will not go without consequence,” the voice continued. “You will return what you have stolen.” Amity didn’t wait to hear the rest. This wasn’t like the fight that had brought her to the isles. There was no mystery to solve, no vague strings she wanted to follow. This was something serious, in a dangerous world she didn’t yet understand. And so she ran.

She found Lilith surprisingly easily. She had not taken any turns while she was stuck in her head and getting back was a simple matter of running the other way. As Amity told her what happened her expression shifted from surprise to confusion to a frown. “Can you describe the voice again?”

“What? I don’t know, it was loud? And it was echoing everywhere and- why is _that_ what you’re focusing on here? There’s something going on and it could be illegal, or dangerous or who _knows_ what. Isn’t that your job? Dealing with this?”

Amity looked up. Lilith wasn’t just calm, she was amused; the smirk on her lips contrasted Amity’s now-growing scowl. She wasn’t taking this seriously. She was just waiting for her to be done. She didn’t believe her, or she knew something she didn’t, or something else that Amity didn’t understand but hated all the same. 

When Lilith spoke, it was the sickeningly calm voice people used when explaining things to children. “Magnifying someone’s voice is one of the first bard spells students on that track learn. It’s used in performances, stage shows. Nobody would use it in a serious threat. 

“You don’t _know_ that!” Amity snapped, tapping her foot against the dirt road of the market. “Even if it is a simple spell there could be- I don’t know! Anything!”

Lilith sighed. “Show me where you heard the voice. I doubt there’ll be any issue, but if there is I’ll take care of it.” She still didn’t believe her. Fist clenched, Amity led Lilith down the path, looking in every alley and gap they passed until she found the right one. She didn’t even recognize it at first, about to pass it by like all the others when she heard a voice. 

“...Will not go without consequence? Really? This is _O Episképtis,_ not bloody Azura!”

“Come on! The original is so stiff. I just wanted to spice it up a little, you know!” It was this second voice that made Amity stop in her tracks. It was the voice she’d heard in the alley, now without the echo and distortion but very recognizable. 

“No, I don’t. You stay on the script. We _have one_ for a _reason_ and I swear to The Emperor, if I have to have this conversation with you again…”

Amity felt sick to her stomach. A play. A performance. Exactly what Lilith had told her. Why had she been so _stupid?_ It was just a bunch of teenagers rehearsing for some show. There was no danger. No criminals. They didn’t even know she was here.

The apologetic look on Lilith's face was even worse than her smug expression from before, not even trying to hide the sickening pity this time. Amity got the message loud and clear. All Lilith saw her as was a scared kid who didn't know where she was or what she was doing or anything about this world that she so desperately wanted to be a part of. Finally, she swallowed thoughts and pushed out strained words. "I don't need to hear any more."

\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Eda was gone by the time they got back to the market. She always packed up early, and had most likely left before Amity even went to find her. Lilith had told her this, but she didn’t think she’d believed her. The black haired witch sighed, sitting in the chair in front of the polished desk of her study. 

The human hadn’t said a word since they left the market. The carriage ride had been nothing but cold silence, and when they got to the tower she had immediately lay on the sleeping bag facing the wall. When Lilith brought down a bowl of soup she was still there, though Lilith doubted she was asleep. 

She needed to get Amity back to the human world. She knew that, but she didn’t know how. No, that wasn’t the only reason… Lilith remembered the look of wonder in her eyes as they walked through the castle, the curiosity with which she’d picked up the jar of polish. The way she’d flinched when Lilith mentioned taking her “back where she belonged.”

Lilith made her decision. Opening the top drawer of her desk, she pulled a colapsable golden mirror from under the steadily growing collection of empty glass bottles. She set it on her desk, opened it, and waited. It did not take long for Kikimora’s face to appear, and the second it did Lilith made sure the conversation would not start with one of the demon’s backhanded compliments. 

“I have something to report. Yesterday, when I followed Edalyn to the human realm, a human came back with me. A child, thirteen years old. Until I find a way to send her back she will be staying in the tower, under my supervision.” Lilith had hoped that would be enough to end the conversation there, but Kikimora never made it that easy. The woman on the other side of the glass chuckled, nodding. 

“The Emperor has known of the human girl since the moment she stepped foot on the isles, though I must say your lie was quite impressive. Had I not already known, I would have believed you wholeheartedly!” Lilith snarled, but Kikimora just laughed. “You’d think by now you would have learned to stop hiding things from us.”

Lilith strained to keep composure despite the anger that threatened to swell out her mouth. “So? I assume you already have a plan, you might as well say it.”

“It’s quite simple, actually! As a matter of fact, we’re in agreement. The human will stay with you.” Lilith had been so prepared for an argument that her mind blanked for a reply as Kikimora continued. 

“Emperor Belos sees this as an opportunity, a way to make sure the Day of Unity goes smoothly. You will watch the human, and keep her out of harm. Until the Day of Unity comes, she will remain under your wing. Are we clear?” Lilith flinched at her words, and despite her face being covered by her collar she knew Kikimora was reveling in it. Still, she nodded. 

"Understood."

“Very good. We’ll be checking in again soon.” 


End file.
